BlackBerry Wins $815M from Qualcomm for Overpaying Royalties

BlackBerry today said it received a favorable outcome after arbitrating a royalty payment issue with Qualcomm. The two companies entered into arbitration on April 20, 2016, over a dispute concerning "whether Qualcomm's agreement to cap certain royalties applied to payments made by BlackBerry under a license agreement between the parties." The binding arbitration settlement determined that Qualcomm's agreement did in fact apply to such payments, resulting in BlackBerry paying Qualcomm too much money. BlackBerry was awarded $814.8 million in royalty overpayments. Qualcomm said it was disappointed with the decision, but it cannot appeal. BlackBerry CEO John Chen said, "BlackBerry and Qualcomm have a longstanding relationship and continue to be valued technology partners."